Active New Port Richey Residents Helm EcoFest

Sisters Kacey and Kira Atkinson have taken on a big responsibility.

The two are overseeing the second-ever Pasco EcoFest, a multi-day festival Nov. 9-11 that puts the spotlight on natural spaces in West Pasco and activities to do in and around them.

Kacey and Kira are the managers of the festival this year.  

The Atkinson sisters are twins who turn 28 in October.

Pasco EcoFest is the biggest event they have ever helmed.

EcoFest this year takes place in parks in West Pasco and locations in and around New Port Richey.

It is manned mostly by volunteers organizing individual activities under the Pasco EcoFest banner. These include kayaking, geocaching, a food truck rally and dancing and drumming on the beach.

The Atkinsons are responsible for making sure the festival goes smoothly. They  coordinate with volunteers leading the individual activities, make contacts with businesses that want to be involved, check on city and county government requirements and map out what activities they wanted the festival to offer this year.

The inaugural Pasco EcoFest was held last year and was managed by Pam Marron and Marj Golub, the two organizers of the Suncoast Arts Fest.

Lia Gallegos, one half of the team doing the public relations for the event, knows the Atkinson sisters and told them that Marron and Golub were looking for others to organize the event this year, Kacey said.  

“It seemed like the perfect fit for Kira and I,” Kacey said.

Kira and Kacey are both actively involved in promoting environmental sustainability and community involvement.

The sisters sit on the city of New Port Richey’s Environmental Advisory Committee and Cultural Affairs Advisory Committee.

They have organized two environmental committee events at New Port Richey City Hall that highlighted environmentally friendly businesses and resources in the community.

The two sisters are each pursuing a degree in environmental science and policy at the University of South Florida, although they took this curbnt semester off.

Kacey said she's interested in the sustainability movement because "it seems to be an all-encompassing kind of inclusive movement.”

The sustainability movement encompasses ecology, social justice and economics, Kira said.

Kacey said those tenets are a good way to focus special events.

"For instance, with EcoFest, we have local businesses being part of it, supporting local economies," Kacey said. 

One of the reasons for doing EcoFest is to highlight environmentally friendly businesses, Kacey said.

There are a lot of people in Pasco County who are interested in environmentally friendly initiatives, sustainable living and local food, Kira said.

“They just think they’re alone,” Kacey said. "...Hopefully with all these events and EcoFest, people can really get involved and know they're not alone."

When asked about what they want to do when they graduate, Kira said she and her sister enjoy working with nonprofits and community organizing.  

“I like what we’re doing now, so I wish that just takes off,” Kira said.

Event planning is an idea that has been tossed around as a possible career the sisters might consider, specifically green event planning or other events in line with their interests.

 “The idea is that if you create enough events, it’ll be the norm of your community,” Kacey said. “You start to look forward to it. You change community.”

Kira added: “It’s just another reason New Port Richey can be cool.”

The Atkinsons have lived in downtown New Port Richey since they were 10, and currently live four streets down from their mother.

“We’ve lived here for so long, and we all really, really want great things to happen in New Port Richey,” Kira said.

Gallegos said EcoFest is kind of a marketing and promotion campaign for the city. There are still a lot of people who don't know it has a historic downtown and 11 parks, she said.

Gallegos sits on the Cultural Affairs Committee with the Atkinsons and brought them into Ecology Florida, a nonprofit she works with.

“They follow through. They’re coordinated. They're organized. They're happy to be involved," she said. "They can handle it."

Fine Arts of the Suncoast and Greater New Port Richey Main Street are producing the festival this year, with public relations services by deChant Public Relations, which Gallegos is a partner in. 

Check back with Patch for a schedule as the festival takes shape.